It is indisputable that safety belt usage in vehicles saves lives. The changeover from simple lap belts to “three point” safety belts, made up of both a lap belt and a belt that extended from the shoulder across the torso to the lap further improved vehicle safety. Nevertheless, despite general availability of three point safety belts as standard equipment in vehicles for more than thirty years, some people continue to avoid their use.
Another annoyance is the fact that most current automobiles all now include some form or circuit to detect and warn when at least a certain amount of weight is in a vehicle seat and the safety belt is not latched.
In an effort to avoid safety belt usage, some people bypass this warning system by latching the safety belt before sitting down and then sitting on the belt, or, at the very least, by engaging the safety belt properly, but then moving the torso restraint portion of the safety belt behind them, largely defeating their ability to protect the person if necessary.
However, such warning systems can become annoying even for those who always use their safety belts because heavy objects, such as pets, large bags of groceries, or other objects, on a vehicle seat can trigger the warning system, even though the seat is not occupied by a person.